cumplíanvscumpliráWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“cumplían” and “cumplirá” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,576
“cumplían” frequency rank
#16,068
“cumplirá” frequency rank
45644
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cumplían cumplirá
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cumplir. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del futuro de indicativo de cumplir.

Where the eye mixes cumplían and cumplirá

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cumplían (CVCCCVVC) and cumplirá (CVCCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
cumplían
8 ch
cumplirá

Visual trap between cumplían and cumplirá

A purely visual mix-up. cumplían ([kũmˈpliãn]) and cumplirá ([kũmpliˈɾa]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45644, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cumplían is recorded at frequency rank #29,576, classified as averb, pronounced [kũmˈpliãn]. cumplirá is at rank #16,068, tagged as averb, pronounced [kũmpliˈɾa].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 45644, this pair ranks #130,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cumplían vs cumplirá

Shared letters: clmpu. Private to "cumplían": aní. Private to "cumplirá": irá.

"cumplían" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC  ·  "cumplirá" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cumplían" and "cumplirá" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kũmˈpliãn] versus [kũmpliˈɾa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cumplían" or "cumplirá"?
"cumplirá" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,068 in our Spanish list, against #29,576 for "cumplían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cumplían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cumplirá" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #130,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cumplían" and "cumplirá" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cumplían vs cumpliré". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #130,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list